Liftoff! Juno Mission Launched to Jupiter & Updates

Date: 01/08/2013Category: Mission News & Science
By: Keliann LaConte

On August 5, 2011 NASA's Juno mission successfully launched on its five-year journey to Jupiter. The launch of Juno offers a fun recap of liftoff! Juno continues its journey through the solar system, bound for Jupiter but on course for a flyby of Earth in 2013, to get a gravity assist to boost its speed, saving time, propellant, and money. Two maneuvers, performed in July and September 2012, placed Juno on course for its Earth flyby, which will occur as the spacecraft is completing one elliptical orbit around the Sun. The Earth flyby will boost Juno’s velocity by 16,330 miles (26,280 kilometers) per hour, placing the spacecraft on its final flight path for Jupiter. The closest approach to Earth will occur on October 9, 2013, and Juno will arrive at Jupiter on July 4, 2016.

Currently, Juno is about 180 million miles (290 million kilometers) from Earth.